HPRC TEAM

Directors

Steven Gortmaker, PhDPrincipal InvestigatorDirector, Harvard Prevention Research Center (HPRC)Professor of the Practice of Health Sociology, Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences (SBS)Key Interests: Dr. Gortmaker’s research is focused on the health of children and adolescents, particularly households living in poverty and minority populations. The major goal of his research has been to identify modifiable risks for morbidity and mortality in the young, and to both initiate and evaluate interventions to improve these outcomes. He focuses on a broad variety of risks, ranging from sociological concepts such as income poverty, social stress and social networks, to behaviors such as smoking, inactivity (exemplified by television viewing) and diet. Interventions have included work at both the level of national and state policy, programs at the regional, county, school, hospital, clinic and individual level. Research includes collaborative work with research groups at Harvard, in the Boston area, nationally, and internationally. See Dr. Gortmaker’s full bio and published articles.

Charles Deutsch, ScDDeputy Director, HPRCLead Investigator, Maine-HPRCDeputy Director, Community Health Innovations and Research Program, Harvard CatalystSenior Research Scientist, SBSKey Interests: Dr. Deutsch is interested in integrative systems approaches to health promotion and disease prevention. He has consistently focused on environments that promote the social, behavioral, and emotional dimensions of child and family health; systemic strategies for helping children and families isolated by stigmatizing conditions; and the roles in child and adolescent public health played by educators, other non-health professionals, and youth themselves. See the full bio here.

Angie Cradock, ScDDeputy Director, HPRCSenior Research Scientist, SBSKey Interests:Dr. Cradock’s research is primarily focused on the social and environmental factors associated with physical activity and nutrition behaviors among youth. Specific areas of interest include school and neighborhood environments, community-based intervention research, and policy research. See Dr. Cradock’s full bio and published articles.

Faculty, Investigators, & Research Collaborators

Michele Polacsek, PhDAssociate Professor, University of New EnglandProject Director, Maine-HPRCCo-Investigator, MYOCKey Interests: Dr. Polacsek’s primary research focuses on investigating the effectiveness of policy level interventions in childhood obesity prevention. Currently, Dr. Polacsek serves as co-PI on a qualitative research study to investigate motivations for obesity related policy making in a Maine tribal community setting (2012-2013). See the full bio here.

Jennifer D. Allen, RN, MPH, ScDPrincipal Investigator, Massachusetts Cancer Prevention Community Research NetworkKey Interests: Dr. Allen’s research focuses on the development, evaluation and dissemination of community-based interventions to promote cancer screening and control among underserved populations, with an ultimate goal of reducing health disparities. Her overall aim is to generate an in-depth understanding of the individual, socio-cultural, and institutional factors that influence health behaviors (e.g., mammography screening) and decisions (e.g., informed decision-making for prostate screening). Such an understanding is critical to the successful translation and dissemination of clinical and biomedical advances (e.g., HPV vaccine) into programs that directly benefit those at greatest risk. See the full bio here.

Lilian Cheung, ScDLecturerDirector, Health Promotion & Communication, Department of NutritionKey Interests: Dr. Cheung’s work focuses on the translation of science-based recommendations into public health communications and programs, to promote healthy lifestyles for chronic disease prevention and control. See the full bio here.

Michael Long, SDPostdoctoral Fellow, Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Harvard School of Public HealthPrimary PRC Roles:Cost-effectiveness modeling team leadCurrent Projects: CHOICESKey Interests: Evaluating policy approaches to improving diet and increasing physical activity among U.S. youth.See a list of articles by Michael Long.

Andrea Pipito, MSEvidence Review CoordinatorPrimary PRC Roles: Coordinating with and providing technical assistance to research assistants; ensuring consistency in the methods applied for assessing the large body of literature; assisting the team in identifying the most efficient and transparent practices for future reviewCurrent Projects: CHOICESKey Interests: Sustainable policy and environment change efforts targeting communities and institutions for childhood obesity prevention; assessing the gaps between research and practice; health disparities.See a list of articles by Andrea Pipito.